The present disclosure relates to mobile communication devices. More particularly, it relates to wearable communication devices that promote user handling in a manner minimizing ambient noise.
Mobile personal communication devices are highly prevalent in the modern day world. Mobile or cellular phones and handheld, two-way radio transceivers are two well-recognized examples of a mobile (or wireless) communication device. These and similar device formats can be carried by the user to virtually any location, and allow the user to communicate with others. In most basic terms, a mobile communication device includes a case maintaining at least one microphone for receiving a speech signal from the user. Various electronics are also provided (e.g., an analog/digital converter) to convert the received speech signal into a format suited for wireless transmission, along with a switch or other user-operated actuator that effects some control over device operation. While many mobile communication devices include a number of additional components or features (e.g., speaker(s), touch pad(s), display screen, etc.), the microphone is a core component.
Microphones used with mobile communication devices are typically miniature in size, formatted to be highly sensitive to sound waves or vibrations. While this sensitivity is no doubt desirable for better detecting the user's voice, ambient noise is also readily received. The negative effects of ambient noise are a common concern with mobile communication devices, and can be addressed in various manners. A primary technique is to locate the microphone relative to the case such that when held as intended, the microphone will be proximate, or “aimed” at, the user's mouth. Oftentimes, however, other end-use requirements of the device dictate that the microphone will inherently be at least slightly away from the user's mouth (e.g., with mobile telephones, intended handling during use locates a speaker carried by the device case at the user's ear, with this held orientation of the case locating the microphone at least slightly away from the mouth).
More-recent technological advancements employ one or more secondary microphones along with noise cancellation algorithms or software, filtered HDR microphones, etc., to address ambient noise. While viable, these technologies represent an added cost. And they do not address the underlying reason why ambient noise is able to negatively affect microphone performance; namely, when the device is held as intended, the microphone is “exposed” to the surrounding environment, and thus ambient noise in the surrounding environment readily progresses to, and is sensed, by the microphone. Of course, a user can cup his or her free hand (i.e., the hand not otherwise holding the mobile communication device) “over” the space between the microphone and the user's mouth, with the free hand thus serving as a barrier to ambient noise. However, this now two-handed device operation is at best inconvenient, and in many situations, is entirely unacceptable to the user. Further exacerbating a user's dissatisfaction with a particular mobile communication device is that the device must be stored during periods of non-use; while most mobile communication devices are sufficiently small so as to be stored in a pocket of clothing worn by the user or in other articles (e.g., purse) carried by the user, users often struggle to remember where the device has been stored. Other solutions, such as linking the mobile communication device to a clip or other mechanism that can be secured to the user's person (e.g., a belt clip), are unacceptably obtrusive in appearance and wearability. When immediate access to the device is necessary, the extra time required to locate the device can be quite frustrating.
In light of the above, a need exists for a mobile communication device that can be easily and unobtrusively carried by the user, and that naturally addresses ambient noise when held and operated as intended.